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“What?” She frowned deeply as she looked to me for help.
“Sorry.” I shook my head as well. We really didn’t talk about the possum. Ever. “We don’t talk about that weekend.”
“Ever,” Nolan agreed solemnly.
“To our graves,” Killian said. He tossed a wink in my direction—a confusing and stupidly sexy wink. What game was he playing with the back-and-forth?
“Sorry, honey,” Declan added, but she waved him off with a disgruntled sound. From the look on her face, she wasn’t going to leave this one alone. At least not until she got the answer. Declan clapped his hands together and faced the woods. “Okay. We’re down one runner.”
“Furry fuck probably got lost,” Killian replies.
“Well, we’re stuck until he shows the fuck up,” Sam told us. He flopped back in one of the lawn chairs. “Get comfortable, folks, and put on some fucking pants, Stone.”
A good thirty or so minutes later, Roan meandered out of the forest. He shifted as he strolled across the lawn, looking quite pleased with himself and a bit disheveled.
“Where the fuck did you go, you furry shit?” Killian asked. “I was about to send the fucking search party out for you.”
“Fuck running. I wasn’t winning anyway, so I took a fucking nap, thank you very much.” He stopped in the middle of everything, his hands bracketing his hips. I knew Roan well enough to know the dang man was drawing attention to his naked dick as he stood there. From the scowl that crossed Killian’s face, he knew it too. Well, that and the fact that he caught me watching the whole exchange.
“Put some fucking pants on,” he snapped. “Shit! No one wants to see that.”
A lot of ladies wanted to see that, considering the number of gazes that followed Roan as he took his sweet time finding his shirt and pants.
“Okay! Before we get this party started, we have two orders of business to take care of,” Declan announced as if there wasn’t already food and drinks across the yard, conversations everywhere, and music going. “First and absolute foremost, Cole, get your furry ass over here and say the words to my fiancé.”
“What fuckin’ words?” Cole demanded.
“You know the words,” Roan taunted. “Just say them, big guy, and the real torture can begin.”
“Come on, Stone.” Raven grinned. God, she was loving every tortured minute of Cole’s misery. “Let me hear you say it.”
“Fuck me,” he grumbled. He scrubbed a hand over his face, annoyed to no end with their antics. Cole wasn’t into the chaos that the rest of them were—I had a feeling it was the age thing. Hands on his hips, he sighed. “Raven Woods—not a fuckin’ Byrne—”
“Rude,” she interrupted, and I stifled a giggle. “But continue.”
“Raven Woods, tonight I’m your bitch,” Cole muttered. The words were barely audible as he said them.
“Louder!” Lucas shouted.
“Say it with your chest, Stone!” Sam taunted. I smiled. These boys. Their chaos and antics were a welcome reprieve from the weird awkwardness that ensued with whatever the hell Killian was doing.
“Fine!” Cole snapped. “Raven Woods, tonight I am your bitch. There? Fuckin’ happy now?”
“I don’t know. Honey?” Declan turned to Raven. “Are you happy?”
“That’ll do, little wolf, that’ll do.” And then she reached out and patted Cole on the head—standing on her tip-toes to do it. Cole’s face burned red with anger. I rotated sharp on my heel and hid my face to keep from laughing at him. Good Lord, she’d dared to pet Cole Stone. The woman had no fear.
The uproar around them was glorious as Byrnes and Ironwoods alike took delight in the exchange. Even Alice got in on it, following her brother around and petting him as he tried to keep her at bay.
“Second order of business!” Sam hollered. “The Byrnes fucking won!”
That everyone heard. Anything else Sam was going to say was lost in the sea of excitement. I stood back and watched the Byrne boys all get into it. I was all sorts of conflicted despite how hard I tried to dive into the moment.
Unfortunately, I managed to do so for all of thirty seconds before Nolan realized it and dragged me right back into the group.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered as he dropped an arm around my shoulder. Nolan was too good to me. “We’ll Nemo our way out of this chaos as soon as she bestows upon them her plan.”
“Thank you,” I said, wrapping my arm around his waist and getting comfortable at his side.
